Species of Inula are well known plants of the family compositae which have been described by G. GARNIER in "Ressources Medicinales de la Flore Francaise" vol. 2, page 1358 (Vigot Freres ed., Paris, 1961). Chemical components of several Inula species have been disclosed in Phytochemistry 17, 1165 (1978).
Inula viscosa and Inula graveolens which grow in the Mediterranean basin are so similar that they can be distinguished only when they are flowering.
It has been disclosed by G. CALDES et al., in Planta Medica 27, 72-76 (1975) that extracts of Inula graveolens (obtained by extraction with hot and respectively cold water and lyophilization) tested as antibacterial agents against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus faecium and as antimalarial agents against Plasmodium berghei, are inactive.